Nov 22, 2006

(CIDRAP News)  Two new reports on human cases of H5N1 avian influenza that occurred in Turkey and Indonesia last year show that the illness proved difficult to diagnose, with many tests yielding false-negative results.

Nov 21, 2006

(CIDRAP News)  Researchers recently reported identifying two mutations in the H5N1 avian influenza virus that seem to improve its ability to attach to human cells, a finding that may help scientists spot H5N1 strains capable of infecting humans.

Nov 20, 2006

(CIDRAP News)  The US government today announced the awarding of three contacts to buy enough additional H5N1 avian influenza vaccine to immunize almost 2.7 million people, at a cost of $199.45 million.

Nov 16, 2006

Editor's note: The day after publication of this story, a federal official told CIDRAP News the amount of H5N1 vaccine in the US stockpile that had begun to lose potency was less than 20% of the total, not a majority of the doses. See the Nov 17 follow-up story for more details.

Nov 15, 2006

(CIDRAP News)  Scientists say they have developed an inexpensive "gene chip" test that can quickly identify a variety of influenza A viruses, including H5N1, and is less apt to be confused by viral mutations than other tests are.

Nov 13, 2006

(CIDRAP News)  Two new human cases of H5N1 avian influenza, one of them fatal, were reported in Indonesia today, raising the country's toll to 74 cases with 56 deaths.

A 30-month-old boy from Karawang in West Java province died of the illness today, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported, citing information from the Indonesian health ministry. The boy became ill Nov 5 and was hospitalized Nov 10.

Nov 02, 2006

(CIDRAP News)  A group of influenza experts convened by the World Health Organization cautioned today that governments shouldn't stockpile "pre-pandemic" H5N1 influenza vaccines now, because too little is known about the requirements for an effective vaccine.